Facts about Barnard's Star
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The luminosity of Barnard's Star is approximately 0.0035 times that of our Sun, making it one of the faintest stars visible through telescopes.
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Barnard's Star hosts at least one confirmed exoplanet, Barnard's Star b, a super-Earth or mini-Neptune discovered in 2018 orbiting within its habitable zone.
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Barnard's Star emits primarily in the infrared spectrum due to its dim red dwarf classification, making it invisible to the naked eye despite being the second-closest star system.
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Roughly 8000 years from now, Barnard's Star will reach its closest approach to Earth at a distance of 3.75 light-years.
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Barnard's Star's surface temperature reaches only 3,134 Kelvin, making it one of the coldest known stars still capable of nuclear fusion.
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Barnard's Star has a mass of approximately 0.14 solar masses, making it one of the lowest-mass stars capable of sustaining hydrogen fusion in its core.
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Edward Barnard discovered this red dwarf star in 1916 using photographic plates at Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin.
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Barnard's Star possesses the highest proper motion of any known star, moving across the sky at 10.3 arcseconds annually.
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At 5.96 light-years away, Barnard's Star is the second-closest star system to Earth after the Alpha Centauri system.